That next step

Carlie Day, Staff Writer

There comes a point in every high school student’s career to decide on the next step. Will you go into the Army, take on the family business, go to college, become the owner of your dream bakery or dive straight into the workforce as a construction worker? A student’s options are endless, but you have to pick one.

So your decision is college, but here is another question: which one? When choosing a college there are three things to consider: size, location and of course, the cost. For size, consider: large, the size of campus is so big, you need a shuttle bus to get to your classes; medium, the campus is spacious but you can get to each class with a nice stretch of the legs; then there is small, where all of your classes are in two buildings right next to each other. For location, it could be in your hometown (seeing mom and dad everyday), an hour and a half away (visiting every weekend if you wish), and then the four-hour drive or even needing a plane ticket to get home (guess who’s only going home on major holidays). Then the third thing to consider is cost, the biggest question of them all: do you want to be paying on loans until you’re 50 or be done with those by 30?

After having a rough idea on the size, location, and cost of the college you’re looking for, it’s time to make the list. The list is usually 1-5 colleges that you are considering; #1 being the college/university of your dreams and #5 being the “I don’t like this place,  but I want to go to college, so I will make the sacrifice” decision.

After having game plan A, B, C, D, E and maybe even F lined out, it’s visiting time. This is where you lock in your final answers: Does this place feel like home? And will I feel comfortable enough to spend four or more years here? After your questions have been answered and the feeling is right, it’s time to fill out those applications. You’ve answered the questions completely, your information is correct, and everything is spelled right, so you press “SUBMIT.” Now the waiting process takes place. That long and nerve-racking two to three week wait becomes known as “the reflection weeks.” This is where you question your high school career completely with questions like: Did I take Geography serious enough? Will that B in Chemistry be acceptable? Why was I cursed with the inability to do Geometry? After second guessing your entire existence at high school and worrying about all of your hard work being good enough, the long wait is surprisingly over. You get the mail one afternoon and you see the letter; it’s officially D-Day (invasion of the college acceptance or rejection letters). You share the letter with your parents and they realize they will be faced with two options: congratulate you or keep you from having a complete breakdown. You open the letter and finally the hard work has paid off! All of those long nights of studying and the mounds of homework/projects completed have been worth it. The University of your Dreams has accepted you and that next step is finalized.